Lakeland Community College recognized by National Security Agency

Chad Felton, The News-Herald, Willoughby, Ohio
·2 min read

Jul. 6—Lakeland Community College has been designated as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense through the academic year 2027, school officials recently announced.

Institutions that receive a CAE-CD designation have met the rigorous requirements set forth by the sponsor of the program, the National Security Agency.

According to a news release, the cyber defense designation — one of three CAE-CD designations available through the NSA — specifically indicates that Lakeland is helping reduce vulnerabilities and threats to the national infrastructure by promoting higher education and research in cyber defense, in addition to providing a pipeline of qualified cybersecurity professionals.

Lakeland is one of 384 colleges and universities in the country that have received the CAE-CD designation, officials noted.

Professor Nicholas DiTirro spearheaded Lakeland's efforts to apply for the designation, providing information and resources to the National Center for Academic Excellence.

"The designation puts Lakeland Community College, our information technology and computer sciences department, and especially our students, into a very elite group," he said. "The demand for cybersecurity professionals is high and this designation shows our commitment to educating those professionals and providing much-needed additions to the workforce."

In addition to the academic and career readiness opportunities the CEA-CD designation provides, it also opens scholarship opportunities for students pursuing IT and computer science degrees, the release stated.

Once a school obtains designations, it can compete for grants like the Department of Defense Cybersecurity Scholarship Program and can apply for the National Science Foundation's Scholarship for Service program.

More perks of the designation include professional development opportunities for faculty, access to NSA peer-reviewed coursework to supplement the current curriculum, and the possibility of student internships through the NSA and other supporting bodies.

For more information, visit lakelandcc.edu/itcs.